The invisible islands

The Faroe Island, a small archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, between Norway and Iceland. Independent Country, but under the jurisdiction of Denmark: Faroe has a flag, a language, the Prime Minister and some important ministry; but it can’t decide about foreign affair and it hasn’t an army. A so much small archipelago, that on the globe you can see just some small dots and the words “Faroe Islands”. Its capital, Torshavn, on the travel guides is named like the “smallest capital in the world”.

In this Country, where the sheeps are much more than humans; where the “Palaces of Authority” in the capital are some small houses of red wood with a grass roof and no policeman to watch around; the most important element is the weather. The wind is often strong, and puts in difficulty the pilots of airplanes in the small airport. And the ocean is often rough, and it’s not possible to use the ferries to go to some small islands, and some villages remain isolated. Sometimes it’s foggy, and it’s impossible to see around us: you can hear the sound of the sea and the voice of the seabirds, but you can see nothing. Some people fall down from the cliffs for the fog.

Traveling in these islands you can immediately notice the tranquility of the people, and their friendly character, always available to speak with people coming from “out” Faroe…  The rare travel guides write that faroes people is “warmer” than other northern people: apart from this clichè, it’s perhaps true that the isolation for the geographical position and for the bad weather is an important factor about the character of this people, always ready to socialize and to help their neighbor.

I have verified this: every time that I stopped my car on the roadside to take photos, other drivers stopped to ask me if I need help, if my car is broken. When I said the reason and showed my camera, they gone away smiling. A girl, seeing my camera on the tripod and being sure that my car was ok, said me: “Yes, yes! Faroe is good for pics! Enjoy Faroe!”.